Fulfilling the Great Commission

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:19-20 (KJV)

Jesus told His followers to go and teach all nations. We are to reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many have called this the Great Commission. What does it really mean to us as believers? Is it something we are all to do, or just those who are called to be missionaries? Is it even something that we should be involved with now, or was it just a command for the early church?

I want to address the last question first. Let me explain something foundational about accurate Bible interpretation. When God establishes a command, He establishes it as an ongoing thing unless He Himself changes it. If there is a command given by God in the Bible, we are to follow it unless He has told us in His Word to follow it differently or that we need no longer observe it at all. For example, in the Old Testament, God’s people were permitted to eat only certain foods, and some foods were forbidden by God. However, in Acts 10, God appeared to Peter and said that all food was acceptable to eat. In that case, God changed His instruction to man and negated a previous command. But, nowhere in the Bible have we been given the instruction to stop telling people about Jesus and to stop teaching them the Word of God. So, we can be certain that this command is still in effect today.

In the passage above, the word go in the Greek would actually be better translated as go and keep on going. Reaching the lost and teaching them the Word is to be ongoing and without limits. The Gospel is to go to all the world, and we are to keep taking it to the unsaved and teaching the Bible to all who will listen. We are all to be involved in this effort.

Granted, some are called to travel to other parts of the world to carry the message of salvation and to teach people how to live for Jesus. Those of us who are not called to do so can be involved in the Great Commission in other ways. First of all, we can impact those in our sphere of influence and those we meet in our daily lives. Nowhere does it say that evangelism and discipleship are to only be done in foreign lands. Secondly, we can financially support those who do go to other lands or even those who broadcast the Word to various parts of the world. There are ways to go without physically going.

You may have noticed I’ve used the word discipleship in conjunction with the Great Commission. Salvation is not the only aspect of Jesus’ command. He also told us to teach those who get saved. That is discipleship. We have to instruct believers in how to grow and mature in their walk with God. Salvation without discipleship produces weak Christians who will not become productive for the kingdom of God and may not be able to endure when hardship comes. We cannot simply lead people to Jesus Christ- we must also help them get established in their relationship with the Lord. This is partly why the church has become so weak and ineffective, especially in the United States. Much of the church has never grown beyond the basics that they needed to know in order to be born again. Many pastors do not teach the deeper principles of the Word and how to apply them to our lives. Instead, they preach feel-good messages that do nothing to challenge us or grow us in God. People must be taught the Word in order to be strong and live for Jesus.

So, let’s go and keep on going to get the message of salvation to others and to teach them the Word of God so they can be all God intended them to be.